Have you ever wondered why human beings have this need to start new things on a Monday, as opposed to a Wednesday, or on January 1st as opposed to January 12th (assuming of course that January 12th isn’t a Monday)?

I guess there is something about the way we are wired that is drawn to the orderliness of beginning on the first day of a new week or the first day of a new year. I remember when I gave up smoking cigarettes thirty years ago, I picked a Monday to quit. I didn’t even think about picking any other day. I just knew – Mondays are the only days you can begin a new habit.

The goal of WellSpan Health’s Market Basket of the Month program is to “to bring together the school cafeteria, classroom, home and community through a strategic effort to promote healthy habits for students.” For the next year, I will devote one blog per month to the produce of the month, sharing WellSpan’s literature while adding some other resources to encourage families to eat more fruits and veggies.

Apples are easy-to-grab locally grown snacks that are rich in nutrients and give the body energy for play! Photo credit: Seth Nenstiel

Have you heard the old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Apples are nutrient-rich fruits that are high in Vitamin C and other immune-boosting antioxidants, so eating apples regularly could in fact keep you from getting sick. Apples are free of sodium, fat and cholesterol and are considered “heart-healthy” food. The dietary fiber in apples helps prevent the bad cholesterol in other foods from being absorbed into the body. It also slows the release of the apple’s natural fruit sugars into the bloodstream, stabilizing blood sugar levels and decreasing hunger cravings. The B vitamins in apples are important for healthy metabolism. Apples are a great food for healthy weight management!

It feels like every year, this stretches longer and longer. At this point, the holidays basically last the third week of October through New Years. Pumpkin muffins lead to Halloween candy leads to turkey dinners and then holy crap Christmas cookies!

It’s intense.

It comes out of nowhere, and it lasts forever.

It’s also getting chillier, and instead of going for brisk walks and bike rides, people just want to sit in their sweats and house some chili. I get that.

1,440 minutes. Everyone gets the exact same number of minutes each day to devote to healthy pursuits that benefit your body or to waste on lost opportunities for self-improvement. We all can probably think of one person that is super busy, whether it is that teacher who also coaches basketball or your surgeon who still managed to train for a marathon last year. Believe it or not, there are super busy people that still manage to eat healthy despite a full schedule.

Eating healthy really takes a change in your mindset, not a change in your schedule. We often put major changes in our eating habits off, imagining that someday we’ll have more time, more motivation, or more money. In reality there won’t be a time where choosing healthy foods become easier. Instead of putting changes off, why not focus on how you can eat healthier today or tomorrow? If you’ve tried focusing only on what to cut out of your diet, maybe it’s time to think about what to actually include.

Every now and again, I’m struck by the desire to make soup. A friend of mine once produced an insanely delicious, savory, balanced vegetable soup from random produce he had in the fridge, so it’s been a dream of mine to one day be able to throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and serve a fabulous soup a few hours later.

Hasn’t happened yet. Especially when I’m not just making up some Chinese chicken broth, I still need a recipe.

October is the season for Halloween and spooky things — right? Recently, I read some pretty scary statistics. Did you know that more people died of drug overdoses in York County in 2014 than in almost any other Pennsylvania county?

Last year, York County saw 120 deaths from drug overdoses — the highest number in our county’s history. Pennsylvania now has the 14th-highest drug overdose mortality rate in the United States.

According to Beth Berk of Community Prevention Initiative, drug deaths now outnumber traffic-related deaths in the U.S. for the first time since the government started tracking drug-induced deaths in 1979.

Creating and maintaining an exercise schedule can be challenging. Family life, work, volunteer activities and other factors can make it difficult to stay committed to “working out”. Getting started on a new fitness regimen is often exciting and the new-ness of the workout is motivating, at least for a few days. Sticking to the program and progressing in the workouts becomes more difficult when the excitement wears off. One way to stay motivated is by finding an exercise buddy.

Find an exercise partner

Me and my awesome strength buddy, Paige

Choosing a like-minded partner with similar fitness goals will keep you motivated. I have different exercise partners, each one focused on a particular type of exercise. My husband, Brian, is my hiking partner. We have a similar passion for the outdoors, we have like goals regarding our workouts and we have complimentary fitness levels. We push each other to hike longer distances, climb higher altitudes and trek faster speeds. My husband could care less about lifting weights because he is a cardio junkie. My oldest daughter, Paige, on the hand, loves strength training, graduated with a minor in Kinesiology and therefore is my muscle pumping partner. Regardless of the activity, I use my partners to push me beyond my limits and they rely on me to do the same for them. We have agreements that we do not cancel the workouts. Generally when one of us is feeling a bit like backing out, the other one is feeling especially excited for the session. That energy is contagious and we both complete a great workout! Continue reading →

A pop-up apple handout station in York’s Continental Square will be hosted by Family First Health from noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The event is part of its month-long Starts with Apples campaign. Family First staff and volunteers will also be handing out information on how to take control of your health as part of October being National Healthy Literacy Month and National Apple Month.

Watch: No Sweat York Workout and Cooking Tips

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About this blog

We want to create a fun and inviting space to share knowledge about healthy living to help our community get stronger and feel better. We don't want you to sweat the small stuff -- having the latest tennis shoes, belonging to the best gym or running a mile in record time. We want you to know that it's not a big deal to get started -- or keep going -- in this health and fitness journey. We want this blog to be a place for everyone -- no matter what your interest or fitness level. We can all do this together. No Sweat, York.